Cynthia Kirchner The Effects of My Early School Settings on My Education The younger a child is the more impressionable the child is. Therefore, early education is very important to children, as they will base their entire learning career on these foundations. I was very fortunate to have a mother who was an early education teacher, she helped me and pushed me to do my best, and meet or exceed the standards for my age. My teachers also helped me to do the best I could and to not get so anxious over “grades”. My early education brought out many of the characteristics that helped me to succeed in school, as well as laid a very sound foundation for my later schooling.
Since my mother was a preschool teacher she helped me from a very young age to learn everything that she could teach me. My mom wanted me to be focused on school from the start, as she had not, and to put a lot of effort into school. Albeit it was only preschool, but I took what she said to heart. To respect others. Listen to what others have to say. Always pay attention to the teachers, even if others are not. Be on your best behavior. These laid a great foundation for me to just soak up all the knowledge around me. I was always constantly learning new things and putting them in the back of my mind, storage for later use in school. These core teachings led me to be a good student. I rarely disturbed the class, I was always attentive and I always participated willingly in all projects and games, even if I found them uninteresting. These values helped me tremendously when I reached the elementary school age.
During my preschool career I had absorbed so much information that a year before I was supposed to be sent into kindergarten I was already there. The teachers at the preschool told my mom that there was no more that they could teach me, that to hold me back another year because of my age would do nothing for me. The teachers told my mom that I should start kindergarten early. This set the tone for my entire school career. I was so proud of myself, as was my mom, but we were both scared. I mean I was going to go to a new school with new kids and I was going to be the youngest one there! My mom enrolled me in a private catholic school even though she could not afford it. She had the state help with housing costs, worked three jobs and had scholarship grants for me to attend from the local catholic diocese, and we still were scrounging for money; but she did it for me to have a good education. When I got there the first day it looked so intimidating, but I just had to recall my mom’s first pearls of wisdom she imparted in me. Be respectful, listen to what others have to say, pay attention to the teacher, and always be on your best behavior. She also taught me to be kind to everyone; this helped me to make a lot of friends quickly. I continued to be a quick learner and progress very quickly. So I moved on with my class to the first grade, where I also did very well, I may have had a few minor struggles, but nothing major to contend with. Then off to the second grade. Mrs. Banagin was my teacher, when I was younger I was so scared of her, just one look from her would send me running down the hallways. She however taught me a very important letter; do not judge a book by its cover. She turned out to be my favorite elementary school teacher ever. She did not treat me different because I was younger, she did not make allowances and she did not coddle me. In fact I would venture to say that she pushed me harder than the others, this gave me drive, the fact that she thought that I could do better than the others. Contrary to what my mother always said when I was struggling with my homework “Do not worry you are young we can always hold you back a year and you would still be right on track.” This lead to me working even harder and studying more, just to prove to her I could do it that I was smart enough. This was where my persistence and drive in school came from. Mrs. Banagin and my mother, both on different ends, and me trying to prove myself to both of them. This set the tone for the rest of my school years, to this day. No matter what I am doing I always think to myself “I can do this” and that I must prove to myself and the others around me that I can do it. I also know that this is where some of my worst characteristics come from. This is where I started to think that if did not make the grade, or was not able to do something I was a failure, or I was not good enough. This is where my confidence started to slip, were my value of myself was placed in what I can do, rather than who I was. Ever since the second grade I have been obsessed with grades, but never more so since the eighth grade. In the seventh grade I was forced to switch schools because of a threat on my life by another 7th grader, as well as the fact that people had been making fun of me for 4 years, for various reasons. When I moved schools I vowed to myself that I would really prove myself, that this would be the year I did my best and studied the hardest. Upon first arrival I was dismayed that I was to be put in the lower of the two math sections of math, it was a hit to my self confidence. At my first school I was okay with grades but I was never at the top of my game, or very interested. I also never really got many A’s. So when I started getting all A’s in math everyone was surprised! Very quickly I was moved up into the higher math class, and did well there too. In January of the eighth grade my great-grandmother died of cancer one hour before my younger sister was diagnosed with Leukemia. I moved in with my grandparents for a while, during the time the doctors were figuring out a plan to treat my sister. “Most people start to let their grades fall, and I was not to be ashamed if mine did too.” This was the speech I heard every single time I went to Hasbro Children’s Hospital to see my sister. Little did the doctors and social workers know I thrived in that time. I did some of the best studying, and I got the best grades. After I asked my teachers to not treat me any differently than before, they did not, which showed me and everyone around me that I had what it took to compartmentalize situations, be emotional and still be good in school. This drive that I had has continued to be with me to this day.
As a very impressionable child I learned to push myself, to prove myself; this drive has landed where I am today. I never lost the way of thinking I developed in the second grade. The foundation set by my teachers and my mom has lead me to be at URI today. I successfully completed elementary and middle school with much help from my teachers and mother. This would set me up for success when in high school I needed to push myself and be able to rely on myself for support, and the discipline to be able to study and do my homework.
Cynthia Kirchner
The Effects of My Early School Settings on My Education
The younger a child is the more impressionable the child is. Therefore, early education is very important to children, as they will base their entire learning career on these foundations. I was very fortunate to have a mother who was an early education teacher, she helped me and pushed me to do my best, and meet or exceed the standards for my age. My teachers also helped me to do the best I could and to not get so anxious over “grades”. My early education brought out many of the characteristics that helped me to succeed in school, as well as laid a very sound foundation for my later schooling.
Since my mother was a preschool teacher she helped me from a very young age to learn everything that she could teach me. My mom wanted me to be focused on school from the start, as she had not, and to put a lot of effort into school. Albeit it was only preschool, but I took what she said to heart. To respect others. Listen to what others have to say. Always pay attention to the teachers, even if others are not. Be on your best behavior. These laid a great foundation for me to just soak up all the knowledge around me. I was always constantly learning new things and putting them in the back of my mind, storage for later use in school. These core teachings led me to be a good student. I rarely disturbed the class, I was always attentive and I always participated willingly in all projects and games, even if I found them uninteresting. These values helped me tremendously when I reached the elementary school age.
During my preschool career I had absorbed so much information that a year before I was supposed to be sent into kindergarten I was already there. The teachers at the preschool told my mom that there was no more that they could teach me, that to hold me back another year because of my age would do nothing for me. The teachers told my mom that I should start kindergarten early. This set the tone for my entire school career. I was so proud of myself, as was my mom, but we were both scared. I mean I was going to go to a new school with new kids and I was going to be the youngest one there! My mom enrolled me in a private catholic school even though she could not afford it. She had the state help with housing costs, worked three jobs and had scholarship grants for me to attend from the local catholic diocese, and we still were scrounging for money; but she did it for me to have a good education. When I got there the first day it looked so intimidating, but I just had to recall my mom’s first pearls of wisdom she imparted in me. Be respectful, listen to what others have to say, pay attention to the teacher, and always be on your best behavior. She also taught me to be kind to everyone; this helped me to make a lot of friends quickly. I continued to be a quick learner and progress very quickly. So I moved on with my class to the first grade, where I also did very well, I may have had a few minor struggles, but nothing major to contend with. Then off to the second grade.
Mrs. Banagin was my teacher, when I was younger I was so scared of her, just one look from her would send me running down the hallways. She however taught me a very important letter; do not judge a book by its cover. She turned out to be my favorite elementary school teacher ever. She did not treat me different because I was younger, she did not make allowances and she did not coddle me. In fact I would venture to say that she pushed me harder than the others, this gave me drive, the fact that she thought that I could do better than the others. Contrary to what my mother always said when I was struggling with my homework “Do not worry you are young we can always hold you back a year and you would still be right on track.” This lead to me working even harder and studying more, just to prove to her I could do it that I was smart enough. This was where my persistence and drive in school came from. Mrs. Banagin and my mother, both on different ends, and me trying to prove myself to both of them. This set the tone for the rest of my school years, to this day. No matter what I am doing I always think to myself “I can do this” and that I must prove to myself and the others around me that I can do it. I also know that this is where some of my worst characteristics come from. This is where I started to think that if did not make the grade, or was not able to do something I was a failure, or I was not good enough. This is where my confidence started to slip, were my value of myself was placed in what I can do, rather than who I was. Ever since the second grade I have been obsessed with grades, but never more so since the eighth grade. In the seventh grade I was forced to switch schools because of a threat on my life by another 7th grader, as well as the fact that people had been making fun of me for 4 years, for various reasons.
When I moved schools I vowed to myself that I would really prove myself, that this would be the year I did my best and studied the hardest. Upon first arrival I was dismayed that I was to be put in the lower of the two math sections of math, it was a hit to my self confidence. At my first school I was okay with grades but I was never at the top of my game, or very interested. I also never really got many A’s. So when I started getting all A’s in math everyone was surprised! Very quickly I was moved up into the higher math class, and did well there too. In January of the eighth grade my great-grandmother died of cancer one hour before my younger sister was diagnosed with Leukemia. I moved in with my grandparents for a while, during the time the doctors were figuring out a plan to treat my sister. “Most people start to let their grades fall, and I was not to be ashamed if mine did too.” This was the speech I heard every single time I went to Hasbro Children’s Hospital to see my sister. Little did the doctors and social workers know I thrived in that time. I did some of the best studying, and I got the best grades. After I asked my teachers to not treat me any differently than before, they did not, which showed me and everyone around me that I had what it took to compartmentalize situations, be emotional and still be good in school. This drive that I had has continued to be with me to this day.
As a very impressionable child I learned to push myself, to prove myself; this drive has landed where I am today. I never lost the way of thinking I developed in the second grade. The foundation set by my teachers and my mom has lead me to be at URI today. I successfully completed elementary and middle school with much help from my teachers and mother. This would set me up for success when in high school I needed to push myself and be able to rely on myself for support, and the discipline to be able to study and do my homework.